Crypto mining activities hit a snag in the Republic of Abkhazia after the government decided to cut power to 15 crypto mining facilities. This action was explained in a Facebook post by state electric utility Chernomorenergo RUE, where they cited electricity concerns as the reason behind their actions.
According to the post by Chernomorenergo, the 15 affected facilities hold a total capacity of 8,950 kilowatt-hours (kWh) which are said to be equivalent to the electricity consumption of 1,800 households. The utility company went on to explain that the cuts were made as part of a series of temporary measures to limit electricity consumption by certain categories of consumers. The utility company also indicated that the mining firms’ owners showed understanding and co-operation during the cuts.
The cuts in the Republic of Abkhazia, speak to the concerns raised from various quarters about the crypto mining industry’s electricity consumption. These concerns led to the Norwegian government cutting subsidies for Bitcoin mining facilities. One of the people behind the Norwegian restrictions was a legislator from the Socialist Left Party (SV), Lars Haltbrekken. He stated in the Norwegian assembly that; “Norway cannot continue to provide huge tax incentives for the most dirty form of crypto-currency output [Bitcoin] requires a lot of energy and generates large greenhouse gas emissions globally.”
In the United States, Chelan County Public Utility District of the state of Washington proposed new electricity prices for crypto miners in order to pass down the cost of increased electricity demand. This new tariff system captures the high electricity cost while at the same time protecting the interests of customers that are well invested in the system.
Last month, Chinese crypto miners reportedly became the biggest short sellers of Bitcoin in both the local and international markets. The crypto winter of 2018 caused a new generation of miners to hedge their coins to protect against losses.
